West Papua To Improve Infrastructure To Boost Raja Ampat Tourism

SORONG, W Papua, Aug 18 (Antara) - The West Papua provincial administration has intensified the development of infrastructure to support the tourism industry in Raja Ampat District. Raja Ampat District still lacks power plants and fuel stations, Muhammad Lakatoni, the deputy governor of West Papua, said here, Friday. Several inhabitants of Raja Ampat do not have access to 24-hour electricity, and visitors complained about the high transportation cost, he pointed out. In order to attract more tourists to Raja Ampat and improve the welfare of the local people, Raja Ampat needs a power plant and gas stations, he remarked. Recently, several members of Commission VII of the House of Representatives had visited Raja Ampat and vowed to speak to the central government about the need to build a power plant and gas stations in the district. They will also push for a one-price liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) program in West Papua, so that the local people can buy LPG at the same prices as fellow Indonesians on Java Island, for instance, he added. Located in the Coral Triangle, the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity, between the Pacific and Indian oceans in eastern Indonesia's West Papua province, the world is now taking notice of Raja Ampat after the Indonesian government intensified its tourism promotion here.